Strong winds in Iceland (flying rocks)

Many times in Iceland the wind reaches 50 m/s (around 200 km/h). This was one of those times where driving into the Hafnarfjall felt like driving on the inside of a tornado . Sorry for the camera shake, it's hard to drive while holding the camera and also hoping the car doesn't get smashed by one of those flying rocks.

[@Kourdilah]

Nice video
If you are from Iceland, please make more videos like this

[@UnnarM]

Aurel. Do you see the huge lit up billboard at the very beginning of the video ? It's the current weather information on road sections ahead. Hafnarfjall is the mountain just ahead and Kjalarnes is just after the tunnel most people drive through.
The signage is as follows:
Hafnarfjall: A 32 and +2° *49*
Kjalarnes: A 22 and +1° *28*
The billboard indicates the following weather data:
Wind direction.
10 minute average wind speed at meters per second m/s
Temperature in Celsius.
The strongest windgust in past 10 minutes.
So it comes out as.......
____________________________________________
Hafnarfjall:
A = Austur (East), wind coming in from the east.
32 m/s = 72 mph = 62 knots of 10 minute average wind speed
2°C = 35.6 °F temperature
49 m/s = 110 mph = 95 knots as the strongest windgust in the past 10 minutes.
and
____________________________________________
Kjalarnes
A = Austur (East), wind coming in from the east.
22 m/s = 49 mph = 48 knots of 10 minute average wind speed
1°C = 34°F temperature
28 m/s = 63 mph = 54 knots as the strongest windgust in the past 10 minutes.
-
You did the right thing by not going any further. Those who did are taking a huge risk of damaging their car or being blown of the road completely. Insurance policies are f.e. voided if people ignore weather warnings. You did take a rather big risk though by not going straight for the nearest gas station and wait there until the weather improved..... ;--)

[@carltonking416]

Why would anyone want to be driving in this kind of weather? You're just asking for trouble. Stay off the road when the weather conditions are this bad...it doesn't matter if you live in Iceland, southern Alberta, New Mexico, wherever...stay OFF the road.

[@javholmes]

Honestly, the weather in Iceland is always like that, I've been in Iceland for a few months in Winter and the locals say Iceland itself is probably the windiest country ever. And if you're a tourist, you probably have no choice but continue driving if you're going to the airport. The rule is just to stay near the middle while driving, always keep the steering wheel straight and 100% focus on the road, it's real stressful, but safety first!